Reciprocity

CHAPTER FOUR

ANALYSES OF THE CASE STUDY

4.1 FILM CONTENT: AN INSIGHT INTO NOLLYWOOD FICTIONAL REALITY

lines. Uncle: “You must clean the toilet every morning, no boyfriend and no girlfriend in my house, no police case, you must change your atrocious names to Jack and Jill.” Jack: “Okay, what if babe come see us or to bring money to give us?” Uncle: “Find work, even those who do pick pocket they are making good money.”

The above conversation shows a narrative done from adult’s perspective, their uncle knows more about the city, he knows the trending events in his immediate environment but the children are ignorant of the events of pick pocketing and as such, it becomes a condition for the children if they must live in their uncle’s house. One may say that the narrative of the above film shows how some adults in the society debilitate and poison the young minds and indoctrinate them into their world of mischief.

Cain and Abel (2007) published on YouTube in 2015 is another story of two children who are in

enmity with each other. The children (Williams and Junior) are also neighbours each with a single parent, William lives with his Father while Junior lives with his mother. The opening scene establishes the children in their different homes. William goes out of the house after been scolded by his father. Williams’s Father: “Williams come back here” Williams: (Climbs a tree in the compound) Hmmmm!” Williams’s Father: “Okay, I am going to cut your supply of biscuits, sweets,”

Next scene introduces Junior and his mother. Junior walks out on his mother angrily,

Junior’s Mother: “You do not walk out on your mother (Junior comes back crawls on the floor) you do not crawl out on your mother. (Junior comes back rolls on the floor) You do not roll out on your mother. (Junior comes back and sits down)”

The above happenings showcase Williams and Junior as stubborn children and the next happenings buttress the assumption. Williams monitors his father’s relationship with their female neighbour (Junior’s Mother) and interrogates his father who is seen cleaning the dining table and the father tells him, he is expecting a visitor and that’s why he is cleaning everywhere in the house. After cleaning he goes to the bathroom to take his bath and the visitor arrives. The following dialogue takes place between William and the visitor. Junior’s Mother: “Is your father in?” Williams:

“Yes, but he is not expecting you” (He slams the door on the woman’s face and she leaves angrily)

The film message is propagated through Williams and Junior as two children who because of their own personal aggrandizement do not want their parents to come together as husband and wife.

Williams and Junior pour out their anger in the following conversation, Junior: “Monkey, you tell your father to stop running around my mother.” Williams: “You Chimpanzee, tell your shameless mother to stop begging my father, have you heard? And tell her to stop coming around to give my father cake. If I see her next time in my house, I will kill her” Junior: “See if I catch your father again coming to our house naked, I will put him into our wardrobe and lock him up”

The little excerpt above overlooks a lasting spell that could daunt good behaviours of the young audiences who see the film. And believing that children should be the watchdog of their parents, monitoring their excessive excesses in marital affairs, one may suggest that children can be more relevance to their parents other than being gossip mongers and mischief conveyors as witnessed in the film Cain and Able

Obama – The Postmaster (2017, also available on YouTube) is a Nollywood film that details young children’s activity in the classroom (Primary School). The protagonist, Obama (Osita Iheme) is a boy whose shrewdness overshadows that of his classmates and outwits his teachers as

well. Obama is the only son of his parents, as such, as it is in African culture much eccentricities are accorded to him. He enjoys a lot of privileges which in turn puts him as ‘superman” who does whatever he wishes, when he wants it and wherever he wants and to whomever he wants to intimidate and so on and so forth. He changes the name his parents gave him which is Arusi, and adopted the name of an iconic terrorist Osama. He terrorises the elders in his community, his teachers in the classroom, his classmates as well as his father. And instructs his classmates to address him as Osama the terrorist. In one of his expeditions, he goes to the lady’s convenience to ask his teacher a question that should have been addressed and answered in a classroom, he did so just to get a glimpse of his teacher’s nakedness. Such escapade exposes other children who are not well trained to adopt ill-mannered way of life as exemplified in the film. This is so, hence one may say that everybody wants to be a “superman” and children are more vulnerable when it comes to having such desires and this is why most of them act out the roles of superheroes they have seen in movies examples are, Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Shina Rambo, among others.

In another film that has children content entitled School Dropout (2012), the film presents two troublesome brothers Ikenna (Chinedu Ikedieze) and Ejiofor (Osita Iheme) who through their off-putting behaviours constitute nuisance in the community and even at the local school they attend in the village. The climax of their irrationality is exhibited when they have to drop out of school with an idea of becoming successful “business men”. An idea which in itself is genuine in conception and comatose in execution. Get it at all cost syndrome crowded their rational reasoning and the benefits of education which they abandoned to the peril of their father who pays the school fees. A teacher asks Ejiofor question in the classroom, Teacher: “What is present and past tense?

Ejiofor waves his hand forward and backward to represent the answer. His teacher flogs him and sends him out of the class and unfortunately, the teacher did not explain to the other members of

the class “Present and Past tenses”. This shows that most of the Nollywood films with children contents are one-sided. Focusing on a particular set of children with negative temperaments and attitudes while playing down on the general good of the other set of children as the case maybe.

As Ejiofor is sent out of the class his brother Ikenna follows him home without the permission of the teacher. They tell their father lies on why they returned earlier than scheduled from school.

The two boys contemplate on their next line of action as they meet their friend Anthony.

Ikenna: Anthony, where have you been? Anthony: Onitsha, I am an apprentice. Ejiofor: Why,

you don’t want to go to school again? Anthony: Going to school is a waste of time. After two years my uncle will settle me and I will become a rich man. (He leaves) Ikenna: Our plan has worked. So we are going to Onitsha to make money and when we come back we will visit our school and give our teacher money”. Ejiofor: (Demonstrates) Aunty, you see your life. The Ejiofor you use to insult many years ago has become a rich man, I will slap her with my money”

One may say without any iota of doubt that if the above contents are what Nigerian children see often in movies, the society may be doomed in making any innovative progress. Unfortunately from the interviews gathered, some children see movies with the above-mentioned contents and many others.

Showing a different narrative content from the above narrations, the movie Mafian Kids directed by Chimdi Chiama presents families that play and pray with their kids. This Nollywood children film captures succinctly a certain happy family and their struggles to come to terms with their marital problems caused by a lingering rancour from a previous relationship and how the children cope in such situation becomes part of the film narrative.

Mary (Regina Daniel) and her two little brothers Nnamdi and Chinonso have a lovely family that prays together and stays together. The parents of the kids also understand the need to exclude children from “adult discussion” This happens when the wife (The kids’ Mother) realizes that her husband Tony (The kids’ father) cheats on her with another lady named Favour. When the argument between Mary’s parents is about to hit up, the mother talks to her kids. Mother: “Mary take your brothers into the room.” This act shows that the film makers understand the place of the children in a family setting. Mafian Kids is exceptional, fascinating and didactic as it relates to family issues. In another instance, the parents talk with their children, asking them questions of what they would like to be when they grow up. Father: Mary, tell us what would you like to be when you grow up? Mary: “I would like to be a Reverend Sister.” Mother: “What of you Nnamdi?” Nnamdi: “I like to be a soldier.” Father: “A soldier, that’s great, what of you Chinonso?” Chinonso: “I want to be a lawyer”.

In another scene, the children are asked questions of what they learn in school, questions the children answered brilliantly. Their school teacher visits their house any day that any of the kids did not come to school thereby showing concern and commitment to the wellbeing of the school kids. Many parents and teachers neglect this part of child’s upbringing of constantly checking the kids’ academic performances. Kids are brilliant breed of species, they are sensible of many things happening within their immediate environment and the kids in the film under discussion are not exception. They became aware of their parents squabbles eventually, and the infidelity of their father and what do they do? They prayed for their parents’ unity until God almighty answered their prayers and through their prayers one may say, their mother and father overcome their marital issues. This act portrayed a clear departure from what one witnessed in the other film Cain and Able where the kids are more or less “destructive agents” nightmare of their parents.

Divine Touch Productions brings another film with children content entitled Tom and Jerry published online (YouTube) in 2017. Tom and Jerry is a Nollywood children film that tackles the issue of an extended families. The two impetuous brothers (Tom and Jerry) are detested due to their dire nature. Tom and Jerry live with their blind grandfather in the village. In this film, one sees a grandfather who needs all the help he can get from people around him, especially from his two grandchildren but unfortunately for him, the children become his greatest nightmare. The children accord no respect to their grandfather or even to their grandfather’s friend Adindu. As they walk their blind grandfather along the road, they misdirect his steps by taking away the blind man’s walking stick causing him to fall on the ground and the Oldman laments. “Only God knows where these children came from. Who knows where they would end up? You are going to face the firing squad” Tom and Jerry keep late hours, come back whenever they like. In one of the occasions, their grandfather locks them out. And as such, they ordered their grandfather to open the door. Tom says “Papa P, we are going to break this door. If we sleep outside now and cold enter my body. Remember we are your children.” And Papa P’s reply is direct “Chukwunna o ga-ekwe ka m muta umu di ka unu. (God forbid me fathering children like you two)” the children sleep outside that night. One would say that Papa P’s action was much on the children but this is a blind man who has no other help in his house apart from himself as later revealed in the film.

Papa P goes further to castigate his grandchildren “Sons of the devil, sons of Satan, idiots, wicked children. You don’t do any work in this house. Are you not supposed to be washing my clothes for me? Useless children” The children steal money from Adindu, throw stones at their fellow children at the village stream, steal their grandfather’s pot of soup while the blind man is cooking the soup, they commit all sorts of atrocious acts. They torment the whole village with their tricks and wreck every home and restaurant. In one of their crime escapades, they pour powdered pepper

in their grandfather’s snuff and the man nearly died after snuffling it. And as if that was not enough they go to Adindu’s house and beg him to help them reconcile with their grandfather, a task Adindu carries out without knowing the hidden intention of the kids. The kids discuss their next line of action. Jerry: “We will use him and make money when we make peace with him” Tom: “How?”

Jerry: “Have you not seen people’s reaction towards blind people?” Tom and Jerry deceive their

grandfather, telling him they are taking him to see a nurse who would see to his wound, having made peace with them, he follows them without suspecting any foul play. The kids use their blind grandfather as a beggar on the streets and at the village market before he realises what they are doing. And he curses them in the following lines “I invoke Amadioha twenty times to struck these children who call themselves my grandchildren" A curse one may say didn’t come through in the end of the film. It is appalling that the children characters (actors) are equipped with so many distasteful behaviours when it should be the opposite. The main children characters in the film are mischievous, nonchalant and disobedient to their elders. One may also say that their grandfather didn’t show them the needed care and love hence locking them out of the house in the night is a childish display and uncalled for. Andindu admonishes him “Papa P, You shouldn’t have done that, Children will always be children”. The above statement also does not stipulate the adequate punishment that should be melted out on a child who has erred, an erring child deserved to be cautioned with the appropriate measure so as to direct his or her vision towards a positive one.

Having observed the above film content, analysing its child’s misrepresentational tendencies, the next film is entitled Two Rats produced by OJ Production, published on YouTube in 2014. The film showcases two brothers, an elder brother and his younger one. The elder brother kills the younger one through diabolical means and forces the wife of his late brother to swear an oath that she didn’t have a hand in her husband’s death. The woman swears a “forced oath” and in no distant

time she becomes mad, although she never killed her husband, his brother-law committed the crimes (Murder and infliction of madness). In taking possession of his late brother’s property, the elder brother who has two daughters Nnenna and Nneka also takes his late brother’s sons, Aboy and Bobo. He lives in his late brother’s house in Lagos and subjects Aboy and Bobo to the derogatory duties of house helps and that is where the war started. The battle of the right of ownership and who should enjoy the privileges in the house begins amongst the children. Aboy and Bobo, the rightful heirs to the father’s wealth try to stamp their authority over Nneka and Nnenna whose father took possession of their late uncle’s property. Aboy and Bobo come into the sitting room meet Nneka and Nnenna watching television and demand their attention. Aboy:

“Nneka and Nnenna, we want to watch Tom and Jerry” Nneka: “As what, can’t you see we are watching a film? Bobo: “Is this your father’s house? We want to watch cartoon.” Aboy overpowers the two girls, takes the television’s remote control from them and the girls run to their mother to lay their complaints. Their mother’s response is quick and harsh, after beating the boys, she tells her daughters. “What? Don’t allow these two rats to intimidate you. In fact, the two rats should move to the Boys quarters, and from now on, they are your boys, send them messages.” The two girls applaud their mother’s gesture. Then, Nneka and Nnenna go on to intimidate and oppress Aboy and Bobo, forcing them to wash their clothes including their underwear (Undies). Nneka and Nnenna become too lazy as Aboy and Bobo do virtually everything in the house except cooking. In one of the sequences of the film, the girls ask their father to buy dogs for them as pets.

Their father is surprised and asks the girls the names they would give the dogs, which they reply

“Aboy and Bobo” in the presence of the two boys. And their father’s reply is appropriate to the girls’ intention “Good, I will buy the dogs because of the names you want to give them.” Aboy and Bobo’s uncle stops them from going to school, in the place of schooling, the girls’ mother opts

that Aboy and Bobo sell sachet water (Pure water) in the street of Lagos. In doing so, the boys join the street boys “Alaye” who now teaches them how to cheat, lie, and commit other crimes. In one of the instances, after selling bags of sachet water and squandering the money they made, the boys lie to their madam (Nneka and Nnenna’s Mother) “We were arrested and put in jail, and the police demanding for our Hawkers Permit and we did not have it”

Lessons from the above films are numerous. The children learn norms, rules, nonchalant attitudes, disobedient, robbery, cheating, among other vices. Most of the children characters’ lines and thoughts are not believable to be that of children in the society. The manners in which they carry out their exploits are questionable, one may say that the children characters created in the above films are living in the world of ‘mischievous adults’. The way they fashion out lies, construe nonchalant behaviours, meddle with the adult issues (As exemplified in Cain and Abel) calls for a serious restructuring of the children narrative in Nollywood Film Industry. If the children are really leaders of tomorrow, then, how Nollywood shape their ideas, interests, and their worldview is very important so as to imbibe and cultivate in them the spirit of hard work, love of one’s neighbour, technological advanced world whereby they could start on time to think about technological innovation, inventions and construction as witnessed in most Hollywood children films, good examples of such films are Spy Kids, Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter: The Sorcerer’s Stone (2005) Barbie in a Mermaid Tale (2010), Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), Mud (2013), Maleficent, (2014), Akeelah and the Bee (2006) among others.